Kygo opens up about that moment when a special request came through his inbox. He describes “Higher Love” as a truly “once in a lifetime opportunity.” The song was a #1 hit in 1988 for Steve Winwood. Whitney's take is fresh and not far from the original. Kygo says:
It was sent to me through my label and I think it was her estate. They had this song laying around and it was never officially released. I think they were looking for the right production on it. I got it in my inbox and I had the same reaction as you. Whitney Houston is this a joke? I saw the email about if I could make this work and I ran to my studio and tried to produce around this amazing vocal. This is definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. This is a collaboration I never thought was gonna happen so I just thought I had to put all my effort into this and make it as good as I can.